Employee rights are protections that are afforded to all employees, but are not always known or understood by all employees. In an effort to remedy this disparity, the National Labor Relations Board proposed a rule in December 2010 that would require employers to post employee rights notices. This rule will impact the actions of Missouri and Kansas employers who are under the jurisdiction of the National Labor Relations Act.

The proposed rule was scheduled to take effect on April 30, 2012. A federal court in Washington D.C. has stopped the implementation of the rule to require the posting of employee rights. The federal court recently authorized an emergency injunction against the propose rule.

The emergency injunction is pending an appeal, which will postpone the implementation of the requirement for Kansas and Missouri employers to post employee rights until the appeal is finalized. In addition to the Washington D.C. federal court decision, a federal court in South Carolina declined the enforcement of the proposed rule to post the notice of employee rights.

Given the legal precedent for employee rights, the injunction action by the court was not unexpected by some supporting groups who say the law tends to favor employers.

Groups that oppose enacting the requirement claim the rule for posting employee rights is unprecedented and does not have the required authority or power to support the implementation of the rule. Future court decisions will provide more information regarding the posting requirements for employee rights. Understanding employee rights is not always easy and an experienced attorney can help understand unfair practices of employers.

Source: Labor Pains, “NLRB to Delay Implementation of Employee Rights Notice Poster,” April 19, 2012